What If: Part 1
by Thisishowitends
Summary: Part 1 of a series of What if one shots stemming from Donna's final moments. They will remain one shots, unless a number of people request for them to be taken further. ROSS AND DONNA


It had all happened so fast, too fast. Just one big blur of events. She tried to piece it together, to make sense of it all so she could pin point the exact moment it went wrong. But she couldn't. It was like trying to remember a dream that happened just three minutes ago, you're so desperate to cling onto that dream that the harder you try the tougher it gets to remember.

She had been standing on the edge of the car park roof top, handcuffed to Gary North, promising to end it all and screaming at him to call off his shooter. She could piece together that much. Gary North was shouting in her face, clawing at anything he could throw her way to talk her down. He was a desperate man staring death in the eye. He would say or do anything to save his own skin. She tied to block him out, especially when he brought up April, her precious little girl. The guilt was eating her up already. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. She knew she was crazy. But she also knew it was inevitable. Donna was going to be gone soon anyway. The disease that had taken over her body was going to kill her soon. And that tore her up inside on a daily basis. But at least this way she would be keeping April safe from Gary. With him out of the picture she could die knowing her little girl was safe.

"Donna, please!" Ross begged, a few metres away, fixed to the spot. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, he didn't want to. They had never planned for it to go so badly wrong. They were only meant to grab the pictures from the safe and deliver them to Gary. It sounded so simple on paper.

"No, Ross. I've got to." Donna shook her head.

"Listen to him, eh, Donna. You don't want to do this." Gary tried, clinging onto the edge. "You don't want him to get hurt as well do you?"

Donna's eyes flew up to look at Ross. He looked terrified. The red laser was still trained on him. "Call your man off!" She demanded tugging on the handcuff tying her to the older man as a warning.

North laughed. "Doesn't work like that Donna. I call the shots."

"Call your man off." She threatened once more. She took a glance down and wished she hadn't. It was a long way down. But if she was pushed, she would do it. She would do it for her daughter, anything to keep her safe.

"Donna don't, please." Ross pleaded once more, he had taken a few more steps closer.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you Ross." Gary North warned, grinning when the laser trained it's self-closer to the mechanic's heart.

Donna closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She couldn't see any other way out. He needed to be stopped. They were in too far deep for any other solution. There was only one way to end it all.

It was then. . .

She had been about to throw herself backwards off the building, dragging North down with her, when "DONNA!" exploded from Ross's chest. He selflessly ran towards them, all worries of having a laser trained on him thrown aside as he charged towards them, determined to save his girlfriend. He couldn't allow her to kill herself. He couldn't imagine a world without her anymore. She didn't get to walk into his life and then disappear from it the next.

Gary North was a man not to be messed with. As the built ripped through his skin and muscle all Ross could think about was saving Donna.

"ROSS!" Her entire world stopped. "Ross." She screamed.

Blood. Lots and lots of blood. There was too much of it. No one couldn't possibly have that much blood, let alone survive losing so much of it. That's all she could think about, all she could see when she closed her eyes. It covered her hands, got underneath her fingernails, stained her clothes. She couldn't wash it away. There was so much.

Donna jolted awake. She had drifted off to sleep again in the uncomfortable hospital chair that they provided beside each bed in intensive care. She shouldn't have been sleeping in the first place. She didn't deserve to be getting any sort of rest. She needed to be awake and keeping watch over him.

She needed a caffeine boost. She stood from the chair she had been occupying for the past four hours and stretched her limbs and back. Ever so gently she took Ross's hand in hers. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She promised him before bending over and placing a kiss on his forehead, careful as to not disturb the wires, tubes and monitors, that were playing a key role in his survival.

With what little energy she had left she made her way out of the small ward and down the corridor to the family room. As soon as she entered the room, James jumped to his feet.

"He's fine! I just came out for some coffee." Donna assured him. She didn't blame him for his jumpiness. It had been just over twenty four hours since the incident on the rooftop and Ross had already sent them into panic on one to many occasions.

His heart had stopped twice, once on the rooftop just before the paramedics, arrived and again when he was in surgery. The doctors kept reminding them that it was a miracle that he was still hanging on. They made sure not to raise their hopes, he was still in critical condition, and it would be a long time before he was out of the woods.

Donna could only hope and pray that he would continue fighting and prove the doctors wrong. That was all any of them could do.

The family room, close to the intensive care Ward which Ross was on, had been taken over by the Barton's. James, Moira, Pete and Finn had remained adamant they wouldn't be moving from the hospital until things got a lot better. They were all too scared to leave in case Ross's heart crashed again.

"You look exhausted Donna." Moira commented as Donna focused on making herself a coffee with the kettle and other essentials left on the side. "Maybe you should get some sleep on a proper bed. You'll be no use to him if you make yourself ill."

Donna shook her head. She couldn't leave him.


End file.
